Inhoud
King Todd was a great badger who lived in East Anglia, and Norah Burke, wellknown for her stories of Indian life, now tells of the close acquaintance she formed with him and his family. Her story takes us deep into England's woods and we watch with her there, in rapt stillness, as the animal life reveals itself around us. There is King Todd, his mother, and his mate, Melanie; there are also the roe deer, the foxes, and even the small mouse who comes to keep the author company.
Badgers have definite intelligence and character. They care for a long time for their offspring, are generally sociable, and very clean. Miss Burke describes their cyclical activities, their home making, the arrangement of rooms in the setts in which they live. We travel from the Main Sett to the Birch Tree Sett to the Sandpit Sett, and observe the badgers as they watchfully creep out for their nocturnal food-hunting. And we see how often their homes are wantonly destroyed by human interference.
Miss Burke tells of the difficulties and rewards of the animal-watcher's life; and in her imaginative sympathy with King Todd, takes us to the heart of the badger's world.
